AL Club demands top Yankees talent for coveted trade target

The New York Yankees are hoping to land a big fish at the trade deadline.

They are one of many teams targeting former Chicago White Sox relief pitcher and eventual starter Garrett Crochet, who may be the best pitcher available. In 20 starts this season, the left-hander has an impressive 3.02 ERA and 2.36 FIP and has a lethal combination of speed and control. He has struck out 150 batters in 107.1 innings and allowed just 23 walks.

However, due to his outstanding play and years left under contract, Crochet will cost any team a fortune as he won’t become a free agent until 2027. The Bronx Bombers are no different, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today has revealed that the White Sox are “demanding” Yankees prospect Spencer Jones in any potential trade for their 2024 All-Star.

“The White Sox are insisting on Yankees prospect Spencer Jones in a deal for Crochet,” Nightengale wrote.

“Things happen that are beyond our control,” Jones said. “We’ll see.”

Jones is a left-handed hitter who is compared to superstar Aaron Judge in terms of size and playing style. He is 6’6″, weighs 235 pounds and has tremendous power.

The 23-year-old is coming off a down year so far with the Double-A Somerset Patriots, hitting just .237/.317/.403 with just 33 walks and 124 strikeouts, but he has 26 extra-base hits (including 10 home runs) and 18 stolen bases (where he was caught just four times) while playing great defense in center field. There’s a reason the Yankees value him so highly, and if the White Sox’s insistence on trading him is any indication, the rest of the league rates him very highly as well.

It would certainly be a difficult decision for the Yankees to trade Jones, and the risks associated with Crochet make the decision even more difficult.

This is the 25-year-old’s first season as a starting pitcher; he was used exclusively as a reliever in the three previous seasons and he missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. While Crochet has been excellent, he has never had this kind of workload before and is still bound by an innings limit; this resulted in him throwing just two innings on Friday, though fortunately that was workload-related and not injury-related. Regardless, Crochet’s speed, previous Tommy John surgery, and recent transition to starter make him a risky option for the Yankees despite his incredible talent.

If the Bronx Bombers are serious about Crochet, it would be the ultimate “high risk but high reward” move, as they would be giving up a key part of their future for a starting pitcher who would need to be carefully watched. But with the Yankees looking to win their first World Series since 2009, Crochet’s electrifying play could be the final piece of the puzzle for them.